US Cyber Command to turn independent: report

Politics7/17/2017, 10:48 AM

EPA / JIM LO SCALZO

The government in Washington may soon publish plans to separate the United States Cyber Command from the National Security Agency, the Associated Press reported on Monday, quoting unnamed sources. According to the people familiar with the matter, the move is aimed at bolstering capacity for online warfare, both defense and assault.

The Cyber Command needs "more autonomy" in order to make the sector of warfare visible on the map amid a surge in cyberattacks and ransomware campaigns, including the threat from the Islamic State, according to the administration of President Donald Trump, the article adds. The proposal has been launched last year by his predecessor Barack Obama's Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, the news agency noted.

The Pentagon will suggest to the White House to appoint Army Lieutenant General William Mayville (pictured) as head of the command, while a civilian could be put to run the NSA, the report adds.